Diplomatic Skill, Military Might
by Remember December
Summary: The war is over, but chaos reigns. Renegade magic storms and a rebel army threaten the stability of not only the O.Z. but the neighboring kingdoms. Two strangers may hold the key to peace, but time is against them. The next chapter of O.Z. history begins.
1. Aunts and Art

_Chapter One: _

_Aunts and Art_

The sun was casting slanted pockets of gold throughout the hallways so that every few steps, one would be forced to step into and out of the shadows. Bright grey eyes marveled at this, stopping a minute to take in the unusual view. A pair of strong hazelnut eyes stopped to glare exasperatedly at the delay. The tall, well-built blonde with knee length hair, to whom the grey eyes belonged, smiled amusedly at the lean, small brunette with shoulder length hair, to whom the hazelnut eyes belonged.

"Look at it. Isn't it beautiful?" the blonde asked dreamily. The brunette sighed but none-the-less conceded the point with a small twitch of her lips.

"We're going to be late again, thanks to you," the brunette said, turning to leave.

"I am never late, everyone else is simply early," she replied flippantly and fell into step with her. "Really, Missa darling, we've been over this before."

"Only you Scarlett, only you," Marissa said, fighting a grin.

"Well, considering the fact you've dragged me off to stare at some strange rich woman's idea of art, I simply thought it appropriate to appreciate something that deserves it _before_ I burn my retinas."

"That crazy old rich woman happens to be my aunt," Marissa said dryly.

"So you _do_ think she's crazy!"

"No, I'm simply re-iterating what you've said at least twenty times since we've arrived."

"I've said it thirteen times," Scarlett sniffed.

"You've counted?" The disbelief was tinged with amusement. "Never mind," she shook her head, "It's you. You just learn not to question it eventually." Scarlett grinned at that and looked out the windows. She paused.

"Say, if I said that I saw a twister touch down about three hundred yards away from here, you'd tell me I was hallucinating, right?"

Marissa froze and looked out the windows. Sure enough, an ugly grey funnel of wind and water vapor had landed about three hundred yards from the school with a menacing thunderstorm swirling angrily around it.

"Well, doesn't that beat all," Scarlett said dreamily and adjusted her heavy black backpack.

"Run you idiot!" Marissa grabbed her hand as they began a mad dash for the gymnasium - the cafeteria - the teacher's lounge - make that, anywhere without windows and the possibility of being shredded by a thousand and one itty bitty pieces of glass that would embed in your skin for years to come.

"Where are we going?" Scarlett panted out.

"Gym," Marissa replied shortly as they pounded down the stairs. The severe weather siren began blaring and Scarlett fell against the wall clutching her ears and heart. Her unnatural sensitivity to sound had caused them problems on more than one occasion in the past. Marissa cursed mentally, pulled at her arms and they stumbled ahead. The sounds of panic reached their ears as they drew closer to the gym.

"Missa, we shouldn't go in there." Annoyed and on edge, she rounded on Scarlett.

"And, why not?"

The sound of fragile ceramic things being smashed against the floor and screaming answered her question. Missa glared at her and she shrugged in return, too worn out from the run to say anything. Gritting her teeth, Marissa ran towards the cafeteria, dragging Scarlett along behind her.

"You have got to get in shape!" she growled out as they slid into the cafeteria. "A two minute run is not enough to make anyone collapse, even you!" Scarlett stuck her tongue out in lieu of a scathing reply and flopped down on the ground, trying desperately to get her breath back. After three minutes, she sat up and fixed her ponytail.

"Well, I knew it was going to storm today, I just didn't think it was going to be this bad," Scarlett said conversationally.

"The forecast for this week was sunny with a high of 90!"

"I could feel it when I woke up this morning," she shrugged as Marissa glared.

"And you didn't tell me this, why?"

"It's Texas! The weather here changes faster than you can blink, let alone _think_ to prepare for it! 'If you don't like the weather just wait a few days, it'll change!'" she quoted. "Really! You've lived here longer than me!"

"A warning would still be nice, thanks ever so much!"

Scarlett rolled her eyes good naturedly as an apology. An eerie howling ripped through the cafeteria, a mix between a wolf and a train whistle; it raised goose bumps along their arms. Suddenly the cafeteria seemed, far too large and the storm all too close. Marissa walked up and touched the wall, Scarlett a step behind. The wooden and stone wall began trembling beneath her fingers.

"It's here," Marissa said grimly.

Scarlett nodded. "Any plans?"

"Ride it out and pray to any god that's listening we don't die."

"Sounds good." She turned to look at the cafeteria doors, nothing more than plywood thanks to recent construction. "But I don't think the doors are gonna last that long." Marissa turned to look at them. They looked at each other.

"You have any plans?"

Scarlett winced. "One."

Marissa raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Head straight into the storm."

The reaction she received was anything but expected. No shouting she was crazy, deranged out of her mind, insane, should be locked up for all eternity or even a glare. The reaction was simply a question.

"You sure?"

Scarlett nodded. "Although, statistically speaking it's suicide."

"Give me the percent."

"Less than one. Only two people have ever done it and one of them was inside a storm cellar. "

"Let's do it."

Scarlett's jaw dropped. But after a grim look, shook her head back into the right mentality. Slowly they walked to the shivering doors, side by side.

"As we walk hand in hand-"

"To the very gates of hell."

They pushed open the door.


	2. Twisters and Tomatoes

_Chapter Two:_

_Twisters and Tomatoes_

The wind ripped past them with such force they almost lost their footing then and there but after a quick drop to their knees, struggled to their feet again. Marissa attempted to push forward but her slight stature wouldn't allow for it. One laborious inch at a time, Scarlett moved forward, Marissa a few inches behind her.

The twister was still about two hundred yards away but the wind was like nothing either of them had ever felt. It was raw nature at its worst. It was a live roaring demon bent on destruction. It was pure elemental energy.

Scarlett twisted slightly to the side and found precious leeway. Quickly, Marissa followed suit and the two of them ran towards the roof access door. Side by side the two struggled to wrench it open and after three minutes of useless struggling decided to give it up.

"Stand back!" Marissa shouted. But with the wind, it was only their skill at reading lips that let them understand each other. She backed up a few steps and paused. She twirled into motion and struck the door with a flying kick. It shattered under impact…and she fell gracefully through the door. Scarlett dashed in after her and they breathed deeply, relieved momentarily of the wind's force. It was almost eerily quiet inside the stairwell, yet the howling of the storm only magnified itself in the quiet.

"Since when can you do that?" Scarlett asked, as they clambered up the stairs.

"I told you I took Martial Arts. You're not the only one with hidden skills."

"But I thought with your joints-"

"I'll pay for it later!" She snapped. Scarlett frowned at her, obviously in pain and trying to hide it.

"Stupid stoic," Scarlett muttered under her breath.

"I can hear you." They glared at each other. As they reached the top of the stairs they noticed two things. One being the padlock locking the door to the roof had been cut; the other that it faced away from the oncoming storm. They crunched out onto the strange roof material and sat in a small nook sheltered from the raging winds. Scarlett settled her backpack behind her and leaned against it, as Marissa shook her head- she had abandoned hers long ago. Scarlett broke the silence first, earning an amused look.

"Did you notice something odd about that storm?"

"Like what?"

"You know, for a person who's reputed to be freaky observant, you kinda suck at it." Marissa growled. "Fine, fine, people and animals only. Anyway, isn't it kinda odd that a storm that looks to be a category four is moving across the ground so slowly? I mean, it's been at least twenty minutes since it touched down and it's only moved about a hundred yards." Marissa frowned, digesting the thought. "It seems almost…gentle."

"You've seen other twisters before?"

"In my dreams."

"You saw this coming." The question was worded as a statement.

Scarlett shrugged. "I have dreams about the weather all the time. I thought it was meant as a warning to be as careful as possible."

"And jumping into the storm is the safest course of action?"

Mutely, she pointed to the torn ground behind the storm.

"Point taken."

The storm had advanced another hundred yards in the space of their run to the roof and subsequent conversation.

"So this means we have another ten minutes before the jump."

Scarlett blinked. "How d'ya figure?"

Marissa gave her a baleful look.

"Oh, right, right. Ninja-ness and all that."

Marissa began a mental countdown. _Five…four…three…two… _

"AW, MAN! Then what the freak are we supposed to do until that stupid storm decides to get here?!!?"

"Oh, I don't know. _Wait patiently_." The hint to shut up and relax was completely ignored.

"And you! Little Miss Logical, why didn't you stop me when I was ahead? I mean who agrees to jump into a twister? You're outta your freaking mind! You're crazy!"

Marissa rolled her eyes and let her rave. It devolved into a general rant about lunatics and lemons and how scientists shouldn't lie about what fruits and vegetables were because "a tomato is most definitely not a fruit and a melon not a vegetable, you quacks!". It was actually pretty funny how outraged she got while completely ignoring the killer storm ripping at her clothes.

Oddly enough, as the storm approached the howling diminished and her volume followed the receding noise unconsciously. Ah, the marvels of the universe. To be in a situation of impending doom, literally a matter of life and death, and yet someone can still find the time to rant.

Silence descended and Marissa tapped her on the shoulder. "Time to go."

Scarlett shrugged on her backpack. They walked towards the edge and perched forty feet above ground, a few feet away from a swirling vortex whose winds felt like a gentle breeze.

"Abandon hope all ye who enter," Scarlett muttered, rubbing her arms.

Marissa gave her a look.

"What? I thought it was appropriate."

Marissa pushed her into the mass of swirling air. And although she would never admit it, she privately agreed. She took another look at the storm, gathered her indignation, resolve and private promise to keep the idiot out of trouble and jumped.

It was liked being pummeled by the finest silks and burnt by a bonfire. It was like drowning and being frozen. It was being ripped apart and being smashed together. It was the difference between life and death. And then, it was gone.


	3. Intuition and Invaders

_Chapter Three:_

_Intuition and Invaders_

Scarlett had a rather different experience of the storm. It was like she had walked into a warm ball of air that cuddled her like a small child. It was like taking a deep breath when you were unaware you had been short. It was so safe and so comfortable, she wasn't even aware she had gone to sleep.

It was the light that woke her, that gradual shift in perception from behind closed eyelids, that stupid reflex that forced her to be a morning person willing or no. Groaning slightly she assessed her condition. No broken bones, some nasty bruises along her stomach and left arm, and the feeling of damp earth pressed against her left cheek. She slowly sat up, whimpering as stabs of pain made flashes of light streak across her sight and steal her breath.

Blinking back tears and breathing deep she noticed something odd. She was surrounded by trees. Puzzled, she let her eyes do a quick sweep of her surroundings. A few sharp rocks directly in front of her, tall pines and various other deciduous trees, a few thickets of nasty looking thorns and…two suns. She closed her eyes and looked again. They were still there. Frowning, she ran through a few sight tests and came up with the same result each time.

She lay back down on the soil and began deep meditation, something she had been taught at a very young age and practiced daily. The energy around her felt odd, flowing in different patterns and gathering around her gently. Surfacing from her dream state, she carefully sat back up. Looking at the suns, she smiled slightly.

Unlike most other people, intuition was her guiding force. She dreamed impossible things and more often than not saw, heard and did them as well. Her family was odd, with strange ideas and beliefs combined from every corner of the world, concentrated and distilled into a way of life. So it came as no surprise to her that she was indeed on another planet, or at least another dimension. She didn't fight the realization and attempt to cling stubbornly to what she knew best as reality, but merely took it in stride.

Clambering to her feet she took a better look around and noticed uneasily that she was alone. Marissa was nowhere in sight. She steadied herself against the expected rush of panic and noted with some relief her backpack had landed about twenty feet away and in excellent condition. Stumbling to it, she quickly unzipped it into an odd contraption with at least fifty zippers and twice as many pockets. She pulled out some aspirin, popped it, and then zipped the whole thing up again into its backpack disguise. Something was stirring in the back of her mind but when she tried to pinpoint it, it vanished. She nodded once to clear her mind, then set out in a random direction, setting her mind on finding Marissa before she ran into some serious trouble.

***

Unlike Scarlett, Marissa had not simply fallen asleep in the heart of a twister. She had blacked out from lack of air and slammed straight into a tree upon landing. Her natural reflexes saved her from impaling herself on a dead limb, but cost any her handhold she might've gotten. She tumbled through the air and through pure iron will, wrenched herself into an upright position. She hit the ground with her feet and turned it into two rolls, a somersault and a flip, shedding her momentum as she did so. Breathing hard, she fell to her knees and clamped her jaw shut to smother a groan, more like a scream.

Slowly, she got herself under control and finally acknowledged what her mind had been trying to tell her for the past ten minutes. She wasn't at school anymore, she wasn't still in Texas, she wasn't even on Earth, she was in another place, possibly another dimension. Marissa fought the thought and decided finally, that she was in the most realistic dream she had ever been in or that she was dead.

Pondering that pleasant thought, she got to her feet and began walking. Scarlett said the best way to get out of these dreams was to create a situation she could easily resolve, like being thirsty or finding a particular rock. She took an inventory in herself. Fully clothed, not hungry or thirsty, not in the mood to go searching for rocks, and then it struck her. Find Scarlett. She had 'entered' this dream place before her and it would be a challenging enough dream to wake her up. She grinned.

Getting her bearings she noticed the sunlight was coming from two o'clock. She turned herself slightly to the right and then paused. Where would she be? Scarlett normally appeared in her dreams whenever they were on some kind of marvelous adventure, complete with witches, warlocks and general mayhem. That or she was trying to make some obscure philosophic point and teach her an odd lesson in her own odd way. Looking at her surroundings Marissa decided it was a combination deal.

She started with the obvious. She was in the woods and completely lost. Whenever she and Scarlett got lost, Scarlett would go with her gut and give directions that got them where they needed to be. Marissa rolled her eyes. _A lesson on intuition, wonderful._ But there weren't any obvious clues to start with.

"All I can see is where the light is," she muttered out loud, then she glared at a tree as she quoted, "'Your intuition is kind of like your guiding force in life, your guiding light or even, the light at the end of the tunnel. When you find it and follow it, what needs to happen does and in its own perfect time.'" Scowling, she headed towards the sun.

***

Scarlett sneezed and shook her head. A powerful whiff of wood smoke had blown straight into her face. She sneezed again and turned in the direction of the wind. Someone had a fire going nearby. She paused a moment, weighing the odds of it being Marissa. _Unlikely_. A chill swept down her arms. She resisted the urge to look around wildly and freeze in place. _Am I being watched?_ She adjusted her backpack and looked up to judge how long she had been walking. Bad idea.

"Eaeaeaeaeaeah!" Midget Indians in colorful war-paint bungee jumped from their perches among the tree tops. There were seven of them in all, in a half circle pointing primitive but sharp spears at her. Her eyes widened and she blinked at them. The one in front of her had a yellow face with black leopard spots on his cheeks. He jabbed his spear forward and she slid back.

"I like not the look of her," the one to her immediate right said. The right half of his face was blue the other side yellow with two red stripes. He jabbed his spear at her and she stepped back again.

"I say she's a spy! I say, here let her die!" the one on the far left said. He had a black face with red dots and two yellow stripes. There were general murmurs of agreement.

"Then how shall we start? Roasted? Toasted? Drive a spear through her heart?" the yellow one said and jabbed his spear towards her.

"Brothers, wait," the one to her immediate left said. "My mind is a whirl, who is this girl? Why is she here? What do we, the Guild Brave, have to fear?" His upper face was blue, his lower red, separated by a small yellow stripe. He relaxed slightly and looked her over curiously.

"Quiet, Bluemind! You do not lead this party!" the yellow one snarled. Scarlett backed into a tree, hands held up in surrender. Time to do something.

"Greetings."

They focused their attention back on her, spears a few inches from her heart.

"She speaks!"

"Answer my questions! Who are you, eyes of blue?" the yellow one demanded.

"A traveler. Storm tos't and horribly lost," she replied simply.

"I say she's a spy!" the black one said.

"I am not a spy!" she retorted.

"I say she be one! Look at what she has done! Sneaked upon us like a fox, like a thief with picks of locks! No name has she given, no reason! To the pit she be driven, 'tis the season!" the black one cried.

"My name is none of your knowing and if it pleases me, that's why I be going. My heart wanders and the woods call me on, now leave me be and be gone! I have done nothing wrong!" Scarlett protested.

"Your clothes are strange, you give no name! A spy is a spy, they're all the same!" the black replied.

"I am no spy, take it plain! I fear not your squabbling, or your silly game! I have lost my way and would be home today if I knew where this was! And yet I am not, _because_ you have seen fit to interfere with my walking here. For shame! Shame to your village and to your name, if this is how traveler's are treated now!" She knew for a fact that was the longest rhyme she had ever said and a small part of her was jubilant over it, even as she glared the tiny men in front of her. The rest of the men seemed impressed by her speech but the black faced one screeched in triumph.

"A curse! She has cast a curse! She be no spy, but a witch! She be a witch!" he crowed. Immediately the spears were back at her heart. She mentally sighed.

"I am not a witch!"

"I say ye are!"

"What part of me? I nothing see, that marketh me!"

"You cast a spell on me! What else can there be?"

"That wasn't a spell! It was the truth I tell!"

That sent a ripple of shock through them.

"Can she be-?"

"A Blue One here?"

"The blue witches of the south?

"Shut your mouths!" the black one roared.

"Enough, Shadowfeather!" the yellow one commanded. He turned to glare at him, then faced her once more.

"Where do you come from, eyes of blue? Answer me, and answer me true!"

"I cannot tell you," Scarlett said truthfully. "My mind is muddled and I cannot see clear. I know not this place, I know not this here." She gestured at the trees and sky. "I seek the way, but where it is I cannot say."

Bluemind lowered his spear and gazed at her thoughtfully. The others gasped.

"She be no spy, Shadowfeather. I see no evil in her eye. I see something great, something strong. I see what you have failed to see all along. She is a Blue One and so let it be done, this foolishness. I grow weary and my care, less. I say leave her be or if she like, let her join our company."

"What impertinence is this, Bluemind! I shall have you flayed!" the yellow one raged. But the calm look he received took him aback.

"Yellowbird, quite enough have I heard. You will do as I say, or we shall be six by the end of the day," Bluemind said meditatively, but even Scarlett could hear the hidden edge in his voice. Yellowbird blustered a minute more but couldn't make a single sentence and so subsided into sullen silence.

"What say ye, brothers four? Finished are we, or is their more?" Bluemind addressed the others. Scarlett noted with some shock that the other four…munchkins -for lack of a better word- had identical face paint: two blue vertical stripes over the left eye, one horizontal red stripe under the right eye over a yellow background. The four looked at each other and then mutely shook her heads.

"Very well then, I say again. Eyes-of-blue, you are welcome to, come with us or do as you do. It is now truly up to you." Yellowbird's glare intensified at the dig but said nothing.

Scarlett smiled. "I will come with you, for if I know not where I am there is nothing I can do. But I beseech you, why am I eyes-of-blue? A closer look and you will see, my eyes are grey, much like me." Bluemind stepped forward and gave her eyes a closer scrutiny. He shook his head.

"Your eyes are blue, when things are true. True it may, that you say, your eyes are grey. Now, however, they are, the same as your kinsmen true, Eyes-of-blue. And in a lesser light I think it right that no one but we two shall know as the shadows begin to grow."

Scarlett grinned at that. Quickly the group detangled themselves from the trees and set off on foot, Scarlett keeping easy pace with them, as every one of her steps equaled three of theirs.


	4. Turkeys and Tantrums

_Chapter Four:_

_Turkeys and Tantrums _

Marissa was furious. She was stark raving mad with rage. She was ready to pummel someone into the ground and then start a mass riot. She was going to scream in about ten seconds if someone didn't cut her down. Let me explain.

It had been her misfortune to walk contently along and not bother to watch where she was stepping, ignoring the nagging feeling that she knew where she was and that she was somehow in incredible danger. After all, it was very rare she got to have a moment alone and even rarer for it to be in woods this beautiful. Thus when she had stepped into the snare net, she was unaware that it was there. Although if she had been paying attention, she would have noticed it immediately. This was the foremost reason she was angry.

The next was she was being interrogated by a group of midgets that closely resembled trussed up Thanksgiving turkeys in kindergartener finger paint, who rhymed. Not just once or twice, but every single time they opened their mouths. Then they had the nerve to call her a spy, trespassing on their land. Normally, she would have been respectful of such cultural differences, but hanging upside down for ten minutes does funny things to your rationality.

"For the last time you color blind dwarves! I AM NOT A SPY!!" she roared.

"You are! I say ye are!" said one in blue and pink face paint.

"That doesn't even rhyme! You just repeated yourself!"

"She is a spy or else I lie! How else could she know how the Guild does go?"

"Liar! You lie!" she raged. "I've been telling you I'm lost for the past ten minutes and you still won't listen! And if I was a spy, surely I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught in such a lame trap!"

"O-ho! She said it plain! She's a spy and here she'll remain!"

"I'm not a spy! If! I said IF I was a spy! It doesn't make me one!"

"You admit it then lie again, so how can we trust your word? We deny everything we have heard! A spy will only lie! Let her stay there and see, she was foolish to mess with the Guild Easterly!"

"What guild? You're all a bunch of tiny idiots who think every stranger is obviously up to no good! Hypocrites! Scoundrels! Vagabonds! Rogues! Dunces!"

"Throw a pretty little fit, but not one smidge of pity you'll get!' the pink one declared and the others laughed heartily.

"Go on then, leave! See if I don't get down myself!" Marissa yelled down at them. Bad move. The blue and pink one simply looked up at her.

"Fern, Goldleaf! Guard her and see she doesn't come to bother me."

Two turkeys trudged underneath her as the others began to leave. The numbness and lack of oxygen was beginning to affect her vision. Gasping, she bent upwards using pure muscle strength and grabbed a hold of her knees. Dizziness swept through her as blood returned to its normal patterns. Growling to herself, she inspected the knot that held her feet, ignoring the two laughing down below. She worked her way slowly up her pant legs and finally seized the rope. She began to work on it and soon realized, it was going to have to be cut before she could get down. Stubbornly, she refused to give up and took another look at her surroundings. The tree which she hung from was a good ten feet away and had no nearby branches she could hold onto. Her Swiss army knife was in her backpack, which she didn't have. She screamed in frustration, something she could remember doing only twice before. The two down below laughed again, increasing her rage.

"Marissa, my dear, what _are_ you doing here?"

She lost her grip on the rope and swung painfully down, the rope cutting into her ankles, the blood rushing once more to her head. She hung upside down and stared in shock at Scarlett, who looked up at her with an equally surprised expression.

"Oh, you know me, always hanging around," she answered dryly, temper barely held in check. "Now if you don't mind, would you get me down from here already?!?!"

"Of course!" she turned to the dwarves, "Bluemind, aid my sister! She too was caught in the twister!"

One of the turkeys Scarlett had been surrounded by rushed forward and cut the rope. She dropped ten feet to the forest floor, to land on Fern and Goldleaf who hadn't been quick enough in getting out of the way. Getting herself to her feet, she noted with some satisfaction that Fern and Goldleaf were dazed and out of breath. She glared at Scarlett.

"You."

Scarlett blinked. "Me."

"You left me!"

"You made me come to your crazy aunt's art exhibit!"

"You slowed us down and we didn't even get there!"

"You pushed me into a killer storm!"

"You didn't tell me you knew it was coming!"

"You made me come with you!"

"You convinced me you knew what to do!"

"You followed me!"

"It's your fault!" they said in unison. And after a minute or two of intense I-am-going-to-carve-your-heart-out-with-a-spoon glaring, broke out into laughter. The munchkins had bewildered looks on their faces, not comprehending the entire exchange.

"You speak their language?"

Scarlett shrugged. "In a manner of speaking."

"Ha ha," Marissa rolled her eyes, "Do you know the dinner turkeys?" she gestured to the group behind them.

"Dinner turkeys? They do rather resemble them, now that you mention it." Scarlett grinned and shrugged. "Well, at the very least, we're on civil speaking terms."

"Lucky you."

"Not fond of rhyming?"

Marissa looked at her askance.

"Point taken. So I guess that means I'll be translator. So you know this isn't a dream right?"

Marissa gave her a blank look.

"Ah. We're not in Egypt, but we're still knee deep in denial." Scarlett laughed at her own joke as Marissa visibly deflated. "Oh, don't give me that look. If you had bothered to look at the sky, you would've noticed something important. Now, it's too dark. Next subject. I'm pretty sure I know where we are and what we have to do to get home, but I'll just hold onto to that for a while." Marissa nodded, understanding the tacit statement.

"Are we captives?"

"I'm not. If I understand them correctly apparently I'm an honored guest. You however, might still have prisoner status. Don't worry, I'll talk to Bluemind. I'm pretty sure he won't deny me my _sister_."

"First thing that jumped out and bit you?"

"I was in a rush! You were about to pass out."

Marissa gave her the death is coming in ten seconds glare.

"Okay fine. You were putting up a valiant effort but were overcome by time constraints and losing your knife."

"That's better. You still have your backpack?"

Scarlett bristled at the disbelief. "This is so much more than a backpack, Missa. I've worked on it for two years and now it is a transformable survival pack. I was not about to lose it in the twister."

"So, it really was a twister?"

"You're still in denial so even if I bothered to explain you still wouldn't listen anyhow."

"They following along?" Marissa gestured at the munchkins.

"Bits and pieces. Think of it like listening to broken music. Maybe every three or four words."

"Good. Let's lodge with them for the night. A meal and not worrying about burning down the forest would be nice."

"Roger roger."

"By the way, you look terrible."

"Gee, thanks. So do you."

They looked ruefully at each other. Scarlett was covered in muck, leaves and twigs and mud tangled up in her ratty looking ponytail, bruises on her arms and a good sized rip in her jeans by her right knee. Marissa's shirt was shred into ribbons from left shoulder to right hip, small scratches everywhere, her jeans were dirt stained and a lovely variety of bruises was forming on her face.

"Bluemind my dear, I think it is best we left here. My sister and I are wearied by the recent events that have gone by. We would like to lodge with your guild for the night and be gone by mornings first light."

"This is simple and easy to do, Eyes-of-blue. Follow and be we gone. I fear we have lingered here too long."

Marissa and Scarlett walked side by side as the munchkins resumed their trot.

"He's not telling us something important," Marissa murmured. Scarlett glanced at her.

"Think about it. Both of us were intercepted by war parties on border patrol. We were both accused of being spies-" Scarlett nodded at the unspoken question " and we're strangely dressed for where ever this is. We stand out a little too much. Apparently whatever they believe you are is powerful enough to get us out of here, but they are still incredibly surprised you're here."

"That's a problem?"

"Just a feeling."

Now it was Scarlett's turn to look worried.

"They called me a Blue One, a blue witch of the south," she said slowly, remembering their conversation.

"They call themselves the Eastern Guild."

"Alliance?"

Marissa shook her head. "More like trading partners or respect."

Scarlett took in a sharp breath, as a thought struck her. Marissa gave her a look that demanded she explain, but she shook her head.

"Not yet."

Marissa shrugged to herself and let the matter drop, for now.

They had been walking for a good forty minutes when Marissa nudged Scarlett and pointed to the trees. It seemed as if all of a sudden the tree trunks had exploded in girth. The one which Marissa pointed at seemed large enough for eight men to wrap around it, arms outstretched, and just barely touch. They grinned at each other and began to watch the treetops. They were rewarded for their diligence about twenty minutes later when they began to see signs of a sprawling city high above the forest floor. Rope and wooden bridges swung lazily amongst the treetops and lights were faintly visible.

"It's just like Robinson Crusoe!" Scarlett whispered excitedly.

"How do we get up there?" was Marissa's more practical observation.

They walked another ten minutes almost at a jog as the munchkins sped up their pace, in a hurry to head home. Finally they stopped at a very large tree, which had a long rope and plank ladder strung down the side of it.

"Hail ye brothers!" someone called from the tree tops.

"Hail ye brother!" Bluemind called back.

"What be ye colors and word?"

"Blue Brave. Transcendental."

"Bluemind! A good sight to see you've come back with full company!"

The other munchkins began climbing the ladder as Bluemind turned to face them.

"Sister of Eyes-of-blue, I do not know how your welcome will go."

"Where she goes, I go." Marissa stood closer to Scarlett as she translated, "She looks after me, a promise to family."

Bluemind nodded, but made another observation. "Ye look not of the same blood, though ye call ye two such. I think an explanation would be good, you owe me as much. A word for a word, as you may have heard. "

Scarlett sighed. "My uncle took her mother as wife, we two have shared the same life. Marriage not blood, guarantees our sisterhood."

Bluemind grinned. "Always thought the Blue Ones were a sensible sort. Come, now. I have much to report." He began climbing and Marissa gave her an amused look.

"You wanna die, be my guest. I would prefer not to be tortured, thanks ever so much." Scarlett stuck out her tongue.

Marissa kept her amused look. "After you."

Scarlett rolled her eyes and began to climb, Marissa a good four planks behind.


	5. Contradictions and Caterpillars

_Chapter Five:_

_Contradiction and Caterpillars _

For a squabbling, hypocritical, insignificant little group of barely civilized midgets, Marissa had to admit, their city in the trees was nothing short of the most fantastic thing she had ever seen. The strength of the rope and smoothness of the wood in the rope ladder had impressed her as she climbed. But now that she was truly among the treetops, could she fully appreciate the craftsmanship that carved these homes out of the very air. Intricate carvings detailed the doorways and arches they passed, images of flora and fauna spectacular to behold.

The view was nothing to scoff at either. The distance and clarity of each thing on the forest floor astounded her, if not the distance that the city covered. Looking down she could see that they had actually been within the city for quite a while as they were walking to the entry tree, there however the simplicity and silence told her that that was where the soldiers and other guardsman slept. A string breeze swept through and she felt the tree sway. Her stomach readjusted quickly but she could tell that Scarlett wasn't having the same ease in adjusting. She supposed it was because she was used to both extremes, not a sort of combined state of being.

Marissa shook off her thoughts however, as the blue and pink fiend from earlier crossed a nearby bridge and headed in their general direction. She scowled unhappily and noticed the midget named Bluemind roll his eyes. Fern and Goldleaf cowered and tried to make themselves disappear completely. Scarlett looked around at the group and gave her a puzzled look. Marissa made a few oratory gestures and the light bulb flicked on. _Take control_.

"Bluemind, I spy a lady fair of eye, who has come to greet our humble company. Pray tell me the name of this lady."

"That Eyes-of-blue, is Pleseantmorn, daughter of Elder Redthorn, his child firstborn."

The blue and pink Napoleon Complex stopped and took a breath to begin a tirade of epic miniature proportions, but Scarlett beat her to it.

"Fair evening to you, Pleasantmorn," Scarlett said in a carefree manner. Pleasantmorn stopped and gave her a hate filled glance but under the intense glare Bluemind leveled her way and the size of the crowd of onlookers, she grudgingly replied, "Fair evening to you, Tall One."

"My sister and I give you greatest thanks for allowing us to grace the planks of this fair place. I take it as a matter of case, that you treated my blood so poorly and with hardly a second thought. Unfortunately for you, my appeasement cannot be swayed, cannot be bought. Hospitality was the trademark the last my people heard, it seems a fair shame that time has destroyed this word. Bluemind and his band have taken us in hand and renewed my faith in this place, and you Pleasantmorn should be ashamed to show your face. He and his hunters did what you cared not to, he and his hunters deserve the title Brave Blue. And as for you, I think it be but a manner of course, that you plead yourself hoarse and attempt to explain why you have so egregiously sullied your people's name. Be gone you without honor, your place among guests is no longer."

Whispers sprang up all around as Pleasantmorn flushed a furious fuchsia and Bluemind chuckled openly.

"And note ye friends, how this ends," Shadowfeather called, goading them on.

"Have ye anything to say, of your actions of this day?" Bluemind asked mildly.

"And before you leave Pleasantmorn, remember what you get is what others receive." Scarlett folded her arms grandly and waved her hand. "Be gone"

Pleasantmorn stalked off and others in her way scattered quickly. Shadowfeather and Yellowbird regarded her with a new light in their eyes, Bluemind looked at her with open admiration and everyone else seemed to be in a state of silent shock. She turned to Marissa.

"How'd I do?"

"Other than the rhyming, not bad." Marissa shrugged.

"Room for improvement?"

"You could've mentioned her father and personal family disgrace before you went off on the people tirade. You should have given a detailed albeit embellished account of my suffering. And you could've given her a good bit about ordering guards on a traveler, when she had done nothing to identify said person."

Scarlett just gave her a blank look. "You know it amazes me she picks up on this in like two minutes," she muttered to herself. "That's not ninjaness, that's like Chuck Norris versus Bruce Lee versus a jelly doughnut and the peanut gallery wins."

Marissa blatantly ignored the spoken metaphor and gave Bluemind a pleading look, which he easily interpreted.

"You are right it is that time, when sleep comes to silence our rhyme. Follow me to your beds, where you can dream and rest your heads." He started off.

This earned the comment, "Oh, yeah! Let me use my Jedi-ninja-warrior mind powers and get us to bed! Because _somehow_, all warriors magically understand each other and thus the translator is rendered obsolete! It's just not right! Matter of fact, it's downright spooky!" Marissa and Bluemind were a good fifty feet away when she noticed they had started walking without her. "Hey, wait for me!"

Bluemind led them to a thick and substantial tree, oddly devoid of decoration. A simple eight point star was engraved over its entry arch, which Scarlett stopped to stare at. Marissa waited patiently for her, recognizing the make-freaky-observations-that-appear-useless-but- miraculously-become-useful-later mode. It occurred to her that this might actually be encouraged if they were to get out of here in one piece and not in pieces. Scarlett jerked and snapped out of whatever trance she had fallen into and followed Marissa into the tree.

They looked about curiously. It appeared to be some sort of welcoming and dining chamber. A good sized table and chairs of varying heights placed around it sat on the right while on the left housed plush pillows of every decoration, shape and plumpness possible. Small bracketed glass globes filled the room with soft light giving it a very homey effect. Bluemind continued on into the room to a rounded column into which he disappeared. They trotted after him and Marissa looked on in appreciation at the smooth circular ramp leading upwards and downwards. They clambered up the ramp to find Bluemind waiting for them in front of four different sets of curtains.

"Chose a color and it shall be, the room for which you keep your own company. Blankets and pillows aplenty inside. I say good night and until morning tide."

"Thanks be to you, our friend true. We bid you a good good night, may the next day's dawn grace your sight," Scarlett replied with a warm smile and Marissa gave him a grateful look.

He nodded and promptly left. Scarlett scratched her head and yawned tiredly. "I'll take cream."

"Black for me."

They pushed aside their curtains. Scarlett grinned at the assortment of pillows and blankets roughly gathered into a nest. She threw her 'backpack' to left of the giant mess and flopped down tiredly into a cross-legged position. Marissa grinned at the boxed bed of dried grass, herbs and hay covered with a sheet and a pillow and blanket. She fell into bed.

"Going do your nightly meditation?" Marissa inquired tiredly.

"Habits die hard."

"How do we put out the lights?"

"Tiny cord on the wall, just pull it. We need to patch ourselves up, you know."

"We'll do it tomorrow." She ignored the glare of doom.

Scarlett stood and grabbed her backpack. "No, we'll do it now before those scratches get infected."

Marissa sighed tiredly and get up slowly. Scarlett walked around her several times muttering things under her breath, a combination of stoic insults and medical observations. That complete, she quickly unzipped the kit and began treating the scratches. Marissa winced as a soft sponge disinfected the wounds and antibiotics gel was placed on them. Two aspirin were placed in her palm and she was handed a cup of water. She swallowed them and tried not to jump back as Scarlett bandaged her right wrist.

"Why the wrist?" Marissa handed her the cup.

"You sprained it somehow." Marissa shrugged, knowing it was true but refusing to admit it. Scarlett patched herself up with little difficulty and zipped up her pack. They turned off the lights.

"Any explainable observations yet?"

"One or two. The star above the door is for the eight points of the compass. A sign of welcome to people from all places."

"And?"

"You really don't like Pleasantmorn."

A long pause then-"She is anything but pleasant."

"I thought so, but that might cause us a few problems. Her dad is pretty important from what I can tell."

"You and me both."

"Political blunder?"

"Her political blunder that she is going to make our problem."

"Oh dear."

"You sound _so _worried."

"And you sound like you're ranting."

Another long pause then- "Go to bed."

"Night."

"Night."

***

Marissa was the first to wake up the next morning. Marissa sat up, listening to the aches and twinges making themselves be heard. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, remembering that she had forgotten to take out her contacts. She glanced over at Scarlett, who was sprawled out and sleeping like a rock as usual. Thank God she didn't snore. It must have been sometime before dawn because even though Scarlett slept like a rock, she was undeniably a morning person and would be up as soon as the sun rose.

Marissa stood and came to the unfortunate realization she had to go to the bathroom. Scarlett rolled over in her sleep and turned into something that vaguely resembled a caterpillar. Marissa shook her head and went down stairs. As she walked down the ramp she decided to keep going and was once again rewarded for following her intuition. A tiled bathroom was inlaid, with a star patterned motif. Running water and even pipes, it was another architectural marvel.

Marissa headed back up the ramp and stepped to the side as a fat white caterpillar inched its way down towards the bathroom. Yeah, _definitely_ going on the disturbing experiences list. Although, since she was in a dream she decided to let it pass. After all, Scarlett had given her numerous lectures on dream state versus reality. Marissa had thought they were interesting but a bit too much to take seriously.

She returned to the bedrooms to straighten her bed and was surprised to see a shirt on it. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Slipping out of her shirt she paused a moment to look over her 'battle glory'. Disgustingly purple and brown.

"You look like you're covered in smashed plums and brown licorice." Scarlett commented from the doorway, blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape.

Marissa turned to glare at her. "I prefer to think of it as lessons well learned."

"You porch!"

"Porch?"

"Yes, that's where it came from. Lectures given on the 'stoa' or porch on the need to restrain emotion by some Greek with a strange sounding name. His fault you're an idiot."

"Good to know."

"Well, you'd better get dressed."

Marissa gave her a look.

"I'm already dressed." She shrugged off her cape and revealed an embroidered ensemble in various shades of indigo blue. "I woke up earlier this morning to do my routine." At the glare she shrugged. "You needed the sleep. Oh, and I requested the outfit. I had a dream."

Marissa threw up her hands. "Of course, you had a dream. Anything else I should know?"

"Now, now. Don't be frustrated. This happens to me all the time. You _know_ that."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Marissa grumbled.

Scarlett shrugged. "It is what it is. And speaking of what it is, it's time for breakfast. It's on the table downstairs and I do believe we'll be having a meeting with the people in charge today, the Council of Elders."

"Gee, that sounds like so much fun."

"That's enough. I know you're uncomfortable with the situation but don't take it out on me. Rhymes don't come as easily to you and they do me, not to mention that your diplomatic skills would be a complete bust here. They value straightforwardness and they especially expect _and_ respect it coming from me. So you can stop your mental griping about feeling useless because you have to go act impressive and deadly, act as my guardian and sister, act as the eyes I don't have and watch for trouble while I'm busy bandying words. So get dressed and pull yourself together. This is no time to be dull and slow-witted."

With that impressive lecture delivered, Scarlett swept out of the room and down to get breakfast. Marissa stood frozen a minute then shook herself. She was right. This was no time to be caught off guard. And after receiving that lecture, Marissa no longer felt so anxious about the meeting they would be attending. Scarlett wasn't particularly diplomatic, following her own brand of peculiar logic, which more often than not, rubbed people the wrong way. It seemed that this time, she had the upper hand, knew it and knew what she was doing to the best extent she could. This and the encounter with Pleasantmorn resolved the rest of her worries.

Marissa trudged down the stairs, groomed and awake. Scarlett looked up from her breakfast of sausages, cheese and bread.

"I'm sorry."

Scarlett shook her head. "It's too early to be upset."

They grinned at each other and ate quickly. Bluemind appeared at the entryway and cleared his throat, obviously pleased to see them up and ready.

"Morning tide to you two, the sun has greeted us anew."

"Fair morning to you, Brother Blue. We are glad to see you join our humble company. But your face does tell of a task at hand; say it and we shall follow your command."

"The Council has gathered to ask of you, some questions few. To meet and greet and decide what seat you shall hold, should they be so bold." There was a fair amount of embarrassment in his voice and in his posture.

Scarlett laughed lightly. "Bluemind, my dear, this I am glad to hear. We shall come and see what is to be done. I see it fit, they should hear our bit. A chance we are most glad to take, no matter what trouble certain others make."

Bluemind relaxed at that and gestured for them to follow him. "If it please you my ladies fair, this be the way to the politician's lair." They all grinned at that. Bluemind set off and they followed after a minute.

"Ready?"

Marissa shrugged. "Ready as we'll ever be."

Scarlett twisted her mouth wryly. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire?"

"Always food metaphors in the morning."

"Of course. I'm still hungry."


	6. Debacles and Demonstrations

_Chapter Six: _

_Debacles and Demonstrations _

Marissa paid attention to her surroundings and memorized all possible entrances, exits, defensible places ranging in difficulty and other such warrior-like things. Scarlett walked along whistling happily, arms swinging, gazing up at the canopy above. Marissa paused to glare at her when the tune began to sound suspiciously like "Oh, what a beautiful morning", but it quickly turned back into a jumbled garble of notes. Bluemind marched ahead of the two. Marissa noted that he was tense and somewhat nervous, his feathers and braids cleaned and face paint redone. In fact, he looked dressed to impress if her sense of their fashion was correct. The butterflies in her stomach quickly turned into a knot when she began to see where they were going. Bluemind courteously allowed them a moment to take in the sight.

The two stood stock still. It was possibly the largest tree in all of two universes. It could easily rival a modern 70 floor skyscraper in height and the Gallery mall in width. A gigantic mass of very small people had gathered at its base, where boulders (some fifteen feet tall) formed a natural amphitheater and looking at the people Marissa noted distinctive styles and patterns among the assembled people. It seemed there were eight main divisions and eight people standing calmly in plain view of everyone. Those with cloth clothing, the most braids, feathers and wooden ornaments stood the closest. Warriors formed lines every ten or so feet, in a pose of military attention, made visible by the space they were surrounded with and ranging from fantastically made of costumes to simple pants, knifes and face paint. She also noted with no little shock that some of them had no face paint at all.

Bluemind cleared his throat and the two turned to him. Scarlett grinned at him, speaking first.

"To rush ahead blindly is cause for worry, my sight tells me no need to hurry," she said, a hint of gentle amusement laced in her voice.

Bluemind shrugged and Marissa felt certain he was blushing somewhere under his paint.

"If I may be so bold, I wish to speak with my friend of old. A separate and unaccompanied entrance would be more appropriate, my friend. I think in a time of peace it is the right message to send. My sister and I will follow a few paces behind and give the people time to gather their mind. They us should clearly see, our faces and integrity, would you this allow me?"

Marissa mentally jumped for joy at the clever ploy, hoping fervently he would agree. After a moment of great hesitation he agreed and resolutely began his descent to the ground. Marissa looked at her, eyes twinkling.

"That was brilliant!"

"Which part, the entrance or the costume?" Scarlett replied absentmindedly gazing at the masses below.

"Both."

"Observations?"

Marissa looked at her quizzically. "From me?"

"Yes. I need to know what impressions we're getting so we appear unified and of one people."

Marissa quickly related what she had noticed, as Scarlett continued her pose of distracted observing. She nodded every now and then. Finally, she turned to look at Marissa.

"Looks like we're on the same page. I'd be willing to bet money that the color differences are related to the cardinal compass directions and that those without face paint have yet to prove themselves. The elaborate decorations may or may not mean rank, they could mean master craftsman or tribe - I think they're in tribes- tribe leader. I'd be willing to bet they're a pretty loose society on most accounts but warriors and craftsmen are definitely different. As we get down there see if you can decipher what crafts they have. It'll help psycho-analysis. Children are well treated, boys and girls," a note of surprise entered her voice. "That and they practice open democracy. Value language highly, then. Get a layout in case we need to escape quickly?"

"Yep. So, what's the plan?"

"We're gonna step forward about ten steps and let them stare at us for a good two or three minutes then take the ropes down," she pointed to a rough pulley system of tiny platforms, " it'll be more impressive. I need you to stand to my right a step back and to the side and look hidden dangerous. You'll go down first, glare a bit as I come down and we'll proceed directly though the crowds not by the paths. Then we'll argue for our lives and convince them I am a Blue Witch of the South." She grinned. "In other words, dinner and a show."

Marissa groaned in mock horror. "You're still hungry?"

"Yeah, for a big hunk of sharp cheddar cheese."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Come on _sis_, let's get this over with, Bluemind's reached the front."

"Right-o."

They stepped forward in unison. Marissa let her eyes roam unashamedly over the mass of mixed colors in a parade ground stance, as Scarlett stood grandly, somehow making herself seem even larger and more powerful, standing straight and dropping the easy going fool act. It was a refreshing change, Marissa decided. The crowd slowly turned to gape at them, as predicted, starting at the back of the crowd and working its way forward.

Once this was achieved, Marissa walked over to the pulleys. She gripped a thick knot and put her foot on the tiny stirrup like board. She sank quickly, but not enough to upset her stomach. She stepped quickly off and sensed it whip back up the tree as he took a few steps forward and allowed her look to become slightly dangerous, the friendly don't-touch-me stare. She heard the ropes rustle and Scarlett step off the wood.

They walked side by side and gently waded through the crowd, remaining clam in face of thousands of faces looking at them curiously, or with open hostility. It was slow going as several groups tried to impede their progress, but after locking eyes with either of them, quickly gave it up. They reached the front of the crowd and paused. Eight elders stood in front of them, in mono-color outfits and face paint in the order of the rainbow. Marissa noted with some surprise there was no blue leader and that some of the leaders were actually female. That, and a white leader and a black leader stood in front of the six colored leaders. Without hesitation, they started out to meet the two odd colored leaders.

The white leader was male, the black, female. They four looked each other over calmly, emotions carefully buried away. Marissa recognized the man as a warrior and acknowledged him with a nod, as he did the same. Scarlett curled her lips softly at the woman and received the same greeting.

The man and woman broke the silence simultaneously, "Welcome."

Marissa felt her eyebrows rise involuntarily before she corrected her expression and Scarlett adopted an amused look. "Thank you."

The man spoke. "Why have you come here?"

Scarlett shook her head softly, ignoring the open insult. "To converse with one another introductions are a necessity. Long has it been since my people have travelled and come to see the changes in the world. Perhaps, our expectations are of an older time." She paused meaningfully. "Clarification is necessary."

Marissa gave a mental cheer as she watched the leaders behind them bristle and heard a murmur of conversation arise behind them. _The acoustics here are fantastic. Wonder how good? _The two did nothing but gaze at each other briefly, a glance full of intricate and precise meanings. Marissa had a sudden flash of insight. These two were married! She touched her thumb to her ring finger on her left hand and Scarlett nodded slightly, having seen the subtle hint. The two faced them once more.

"Do you seek to tell us what proper decorum is?" the man asked, his rough low voice even. Marissa heard the threat. _Careful! _

Scarlett smiled slightly and shook her head. "No. We simply mean to know whether customs have changed, so as not to give unnecessary offense."

A flicker of amusement flashed through both of them. The woman spoke, "Do you wish to give offense, then?" her voice middle toned and melodic.

Scarlett leaned her head to one side. "Sometimes insults are far more effective in resolving issues than _forms_ of politeness. If one devotes himself to being only polite, then his opinion and stand in any matter will be washed away in trying to keep everyone in good favor. Although, I would hope we shan't resort to that. Particularly not on our first meeting."

Marissa fought to keep her jaw from dropping. _She_ had said that! Months ago! During a conversation in which Scarlett was half drowsing and not participating in! She had thought she wasn't even paying attention! The light bulb flicked on. _Scarlett was paraphrasing!_ It wasn't true diplomatic skill, she was pulling from her vast memory of books, conversations and rants to fit the situation.

It made more sense now. _That_ was why she needed her to make the observations. Because she was busy _remembering_. Scarlett's idea of negotiation involved speaking in as few words as possible while insulting the other person as much as she could and making it seem as if she was right the whole time; that or throwing them on the floor, sitting on them and ranting; and occasionally, a good discussion full of random references designed to throw the other person off-track, off guard and into the deepest depths of confusion. Lately, confusion had been her preferred method. Marissa suspected it was because she now knew three languages.

In the time in which this epiphany had occurred, another long look had been exchanged. "Your mannerisms are strange for the Tall Ones," the white one said, somewhat suspiciously.

"And your mannerisms are strange for a people renown for their hospitality, if they aren't killed at first sight." The venom laced comment was delivered from a bemused face, somewhat strengthening the acidity of the not so subtle reminder of their purpose. Marissa resisted the urge to face palm. _So much for diplomacy…_

The two leaders twitched slightly and all restraint was lost. "A people cannot be responsible for the actions of a single person," the black one said coolly. "And you have transgressions of your own to answer for," the white one continued.

"And you both are terrible at attempting to threaten me into submission," she interrupted, eyes flashing, "If you want to intimidate me, go learn from my Village Elders and learn metaphors so long a single discussion takes ten days. If you think you can make me kowtow to you out of abject fear, then _you _are a thousand years too early." The stadium erupted in outrage, with the other Village Elders stepping forth to glare at Scarlett and a particularly rowdy bit of protest being led by Pleasantmorn. It took every last bit of her willpower and patience, coming from mental depths she didn't even know she possessed, for Marissa to resist the urge to face palm.

It was the laughter that shocked them all. It was deep and low pitched, sounding more like thunder rumbling on a stormy horizon than laughter. Slowly, very slowly, painfully, embarrassingly, outrageously slowly, the outrage died as the laughter pervaded the mob's noise and silence one more began to fall. Scarlett and Marissa looked at each other, then gave a shrug, turning to find the source of the laughter. It was a Village Elder. The Red Village Elder, to be precise. As Marissa processed this fact, he walked up to the huddle of the others and stared in unabashed good humor up at Scarlett.

"I like this kid," he said cheerfully and deliberately. "I think it's way past high time someone came to challenge us. Not ot mention she brought a good fighter with her. A real good one too. It's refreshing." He grinned widely. "I might even be prompted to say, that I approve of her actions and invite her to come again under the Red Banner. That is if I'm allowed to step off my righteous platform and be honest for a minute."

Scarlett smiled warmly at that. "Gracious be my thanks, from the bottom of my heart, may everyday be a joy from start to finish, and finish to start. One who honors another's family, is truly fine company. I do gladly accept your invitation and on behalf on my sister do say, it pleases her to make your acquaintance this day."

His face paint rose where his eyebrows would be and he let lose an earth shattering laugh. The Purple Village Elder shook her head and sighed as the Green's lips twitched ever so slightly. The Orange Village Elder looked ready to stab somebody and the Yellow was twiddling a feather between his fingers watching the exchange with avid interest. The two in charge still looked as icy as slabs of marble, which Marissa had expected. She had the personality types, but couldn't see the pattern Scarlett had figured out, if her jubilant look was any indication.

"You are aware that you have a throbbing temple vein, right?" Scarlett asked the Orange Village Elder. This caused even more laughter, an even deeper shocked silence and the Green to smile very slightly. As the Orange began collecting himself for a major tirade, the Yellow cut him off.

"The Blue Ones are fond of color given names, a similarity I would hope has stayed the same, yet I know not what meaning has your name. I should ask to see, if you should decide to tell me?" The feather was still being twiddled, however at a much slower rate. And that was when the pattern clicked. _Oh, well done…very well done._


	7. Titles and Tests

_Chapter Seven: _

_Titles and Tests_

A strange silence settled over the clearing as Scarlett gave the Yellow Village Elder a slow and measuring look. Finally, she clasped her hands and bowed her head a moment. Marissa stood still, running the alphabet through her head to keep from looking puzzled. Something big had just gone down. Something that could get them killed. Something that she had no clue about. At last, Scarlett raised her head and murmured quietly, "Then a formal introduction will be necessary, however, I do not wish to reveal my full title. It is rather long and boring to hear."

The Village Elders looked at each other as the Black and White shared another long look. "What say you brethren? Is her request reasonable?" the White asked without turning his head.

They held a small conference and the Orange answered slowly, "We find her request reasonable but we wish to ask to be allowed to verify her answer with a small test. "

Scarlett smiled slightly. "Perfect. My name is Scarlett, mage. My companion is Marissa, warrior." A ripple of furious whispers broke out behind them. Scarlett rolled her eyes and Marissa snorted, following her lead. The Black and White Elders shared a look as the Orange Village Elder stepped forward.

"That is impossible. We knew Scarlett when she came to visit us last, that was over forty years ago, " he said smugly.

Scarlett looked at him mildly. "For us, it is possible to give children the mother or father's or any relations' name at birth. It is not necessary to wait three generations. We look similar from what I've been told, but we are different people."

"And so you shall be treated as such," said the Yellow smoothly. "However, you also claimed the same title as she did. She too was a mage. Perhaps I am mistaken, but is it not unusual to have two mages take the same name?"

"That is true-"

"And am I also mistaken in my knowledge that Scarlett is a name belonging to the royals only?" he continued, the feather twirling once more in his fingers.

"Such names can be bestowed by the royals," Scarlett said with a touch of impatience, "You need not always be royalty to bear their name."

"But you are treated as such if that does occur," the Yellow said triumphantly. "And if the Royals have no blood children of their own they can choose to do such a thing and you become the next in line for the throne. To the best of my knowledge, King Byzantium and Queen Tealuma have had no children-"

"Enough," she snapped. "If you had wished to ask of my lineage then you should have done so before you agreed to not hear my full title. Any more questions about my bloodline will be considered going against our agreement and we will take our leave, with or without your permission."

"And how, do you plan to do that?" the Red Village Elder questioned gently. "We are a hospitable people but not a foolish one."

Scarlett settled back onto her heels and fussed with her sleeve a moment as she asked, "Do you remember what specific type of mage Scarlett was?" There was silence as the Council focused sharply in on her.

"And perhaps you remember how rare that is for my people." Another pause.

"And perhaps you remember, that when mages complete their training they face a series of tests to determine the most powerful among us. Now, sometimes it might be a growing mage or music mage, for most of us are strongly talented in one thing above all others. This is true of all mages, even though we are able to use a wide variety of magics despite any inclination we might feel."

Her voice grew softer. "And maybe you've been so kind as to remember, that sometimes children are born among us that have inclinations towards more than one thing or…towards nothing at all and can access all magics to their strength ability." Her eyes grew sharp as she looked each of them in the face. "Scarlett is my name for more than one reason."

Marissa listened carefully, her eyes scanning the trees behind the Council. Something wasn't quite right. It was unusually quiet in the woods. No birds or animals could be heard, as they had been earlier. Even the winds had died down to slight shivers of air. As she scanned the forest, she listened with half an ear to Scarlett's long speech. _Seems her dream was way more detailed than she bothered to tell me_, she thought sourly, then let go of the thought. They weren't dead yet, so best stick with the plan.

She paused to briefly glance over the Council's faces. Seething indignation, mental oh snap, passive indifference and amusement. She paused at the last one and gave the Green Village Elder a closer look. Why was he the only one not surprised by this? Marissa turned back to regarding the trees, noticing the high set patrols at the edge of the clearing. _Good for defense. But where's the offense?_ She couldn't do a full perimeter sweep without turning around and she knew it would be better not to. She reflected that this was undoubtedly the longest dream she had ever had, bar none. Maybe she was in a coma. She turned the thought over carefully. That _would _explain a lot.

"Then in the interest of not breaking our bargain, it is time for you uphold your end of the deal," the Orange Village Elder said, looking as though he had bitten into a lemon. Scarlett gazed at him calmly. Marissa looked at him as well, wondering where her sudden ability to keep a straight face had come from. She was notorious for not being able to keep a poker face, in fact, she was pretty sure it was physically impossible for her. Then again, life or death situation.

"The task we have chosen is quite simple, and for one of your -abilities- it shouldn't be that difficult," he paused to glare at her, "We ask that you tell us our names."

Marissa's shoulders jerked involuntarily. Oh God.

Scarlett laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright," she murmured. "I had a dream."

Marissa stomped on her heart to get its rate down and resisted the urge to strangle her. She settled for letting her intimidation factor go off the charts and mentally planning their escape. Dreams be damned, she wasn't dieing because of a bunch of trumped-up midgets said so.

"Does our decision displease you?" the Yellow Village Elder asked, watching Marissa.

Scarlett smiled slightly. "Myself, no. Marissa, yes. She has…an _aversion _to me working magic. Not to worry though. I'm moderately certain no one will get killed."

Shock waves rippled through the crowd as the took several steps back. The Council did so as well, just in a much more dignified manner. Marissa hunched her shoulders and retreated a few steps, to kneel. Despite her foreboding at what was about to happen, she kept watching the trees. Something still wasn't right.

Scarlett stood where she was and lazily stretched her arms. Whirling about, she pointed at one of the guards and beckoned with a finger as she walked towards him. Nervously, he edged forward. Scarlett smiled at him. "I would to borrow the drum I see. Would you this oblige me?"

He blinked at her a few times, then nodded stiffly and handed her the wide circular drum he had hanging around his neck. Scarlett accepted it then walked back. Idly, she ran her fingers across it. A patter of sharp but soft notes followed. Pleased, she nodded once and then looked up at the sky, judging time and direction. She adjusted her feet. Suddenly, a long clear high note burst from her throat. Marissa jumped slightly but then again, so did the entire stadium. Frowning, she tried again running through a few brief scales before taking a breath.

"_Hitotsu Futatsu wa _

_Akago mo Fumuga Mitsu Yotsu wa _

_Oni mo Naku, Naku_

_Tatara Onna wa Kogane no Nasake_

_Tokete Nagarerya Yaiba ni Kawaru…"_

She repeated the phrase and slowly, reluctantly other voices began to join in. Marissa's jaw almost hit the floor but she quickly hung her head to cover it up. More and more voices joined in and they repeated themselves over and over again, as Scarlett turned slowly in a circle, beating a light rhythm on the drum she held. As she finished her circle, the voices swelled and then fell away. Marissa raised her head and watched as Scarlett confidently pointed to each of the Elders and named them:

Red "Redthorn"- Orange "Autumnleaf"- Yellow "Summershine"- Green "Mosswall" - Purple "Stonemusic"- White "Lightsong" and Black "Nightwind."

"Look!" someone shouted and another wave of gasps rang out.

_The tree…tree is plant…monster tree…glowing? _Marissa's mind ran in incoherent circles as she attempted to rationalize why, oh Dear Lord why, the largest tree in all of two universes…was glowing.

Scarlett looked up at it and 'huh-ed'. "Cool."


	8. Warnings and Wishes

_Chapter Eight: _

_Warnings and Wishes _

Scarlett swayed slightly, like a small child who is pleased about something, as she looked up at the tree. Marissa clenched her fists, took a deep breath and returned to watching the tree line. She could and would ignore the now phosphorescent entity. After a moment of swaying, Scarlett walked happily through the Council and pressed herself against the bark of tree.

Marissa started to her feet, but remained where she was. She was jittery. Her skin alternately crawled and itched as Scarlett remained where she was. Something spooky and downright hinky was happening and Marissa didn't like it. Not one bit. It made her want to clench her teeth and pummel something into very tiny pieces or run very fast to someplace very far away. Nothing moved in the clearing as the glow of the tree and Scarlett began to intensify.

Slowly but noticeably the light grew steadier, brighter and so did Marissa's urge to lash out. Finally, the light reached it's maximum, a brightness that forced Marissa to shield her eyes. And as if some invisible, inaudible crescendo had been reached the light phased out in circles emanating from the tree until at last they faded completely. Marissa rubbed her blinded eyes and blearily looked around the clearing. Scarlett walked back towards her and shook her head.

"Dude, this is so Mulan!" she whispered excitedly.

Marissa rolled her eyes out of habit at the Disney reference, but agreed. It wasn't every day you had a previously hostile group of people fall to their knees in abject humility and worship.

"Only one problem," Marissa said. Scarlett looked at her. "You didn't save them from an invading army using fireworks."

Scarlett scowled. "Well, it's close!"

Marissa shrugged, averting her eyes and Scarlett huffed as they both turned to the Council. Each Council member held their hands palm up and outstretched, heads bowed. The two shared a look then intoned simultaneously," Rise."

The Council held their pose a moment longer and then reformed into their original ranks.

"We were wrong," Lightsong said gravely.

"We apologize," Nightwind said softly.

"Then all is forgiven," Scarlett said brusquely. "I hate to bear bad news, but it is far past time we were on our way."

"And where is your destination?" Summershine asked curiously, the feather twirling once more in his fingers.

"No needs be offended allies mine, but this is a changing time, some things are to be known at a different date, and this is one, pray take no offense at what must be late," she replied smoothly.

"Then Good Spirits be- watching over you carefully," Redthorn said. "You seem to walk a troubled path, burdened with a great task. Be safe and savvy, that is all I ask. And if the time should ever be done, and should your need of us ever come, the Red Banner shall be there, in full strength, as is proper, as is fair."

"Then the Green Banner shall accompany the Red, when all is done and said. I make this pledge and to mine honor bind, so let not worry cloud your mind," Mosswall said gravely, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Redthorn started, but looked immensely pleased, grinning broadly at him and the assembly in general. Summershine almost chuckled to himself but managed to add, "Add the Yellow to your count and pray let us take account of what may be an event for history."

"The Purple Banner will also raise in times of peril, may they not come for many days, a sign of our goodwill," Stonemusic said and nodded her head at them.

Autumnleaf pursed his lips angrily, stepped forward and gazed off into the distance a moment. The rest of the Council waited patiently for him to speak and Marissa narrowed her eyes at him slightly, warning him to hurry it up.

"The Orange Banner has always and will ever be the voice of lessons past, so we shall take the duty that others leave for last. We shall raise our banner strong, but shall not be pulled along, to far off places under other races reign. Though it may cause some strategic pain, the Orange Banner shall remain to guard hearth and tome, so that when battle is done we all will not have lost our home," Autumnleaf said slowly.

Marissa shifted her weight in approval and her glare diminished somewhat. Scarlett turned to her and gave her a look. Marissa nodded to her unspoken question.

"Careful, cautious, but somewhat sere to think we would wantonly destroy what you hold dear. Our armies function much the same, the lesson to which you refer shall not be repeated, by my name." Scarlett inclined her head at Autumnleaf.

"So it has been spoken-" Nightwind began.

"So it shall be done," Lightsong finished.

"Then we shall take our leave," Scarlett began but Marissa laid a hand on her shoulder and murmured quietly, "We still need food until we get to where ever it is you think we're going."

"Then we'll need water too," Scarlett replied quietly. "Anything else you can think of?"

"Some weapons would be nice."

"Weapons?"

"A quarter staff and bow for you, a light sword and pair of daggers for me," Marissa pondered slowly. "If we can't get those then ask for two slings."

"You can use a sling?" Scarlett turned to blink at her in surprise.

"No, but it's easy to carry and I can master it in less than four days."

"If you say so." Scarlett regarded the Council a moment before beginning again. "My guardian feels that the road ahead will be rough, but she has no provisions for her task. At the beginning I had deemed, her mere presence to enough. I humbly beseech you for such supplies as she requires and enough food to last us a fortnight, if not that then twenty fires, this is the last of you I shall ask."

Redthorn loosed the rumble of his laugh again and nodded his approval. "Though she speak not a word, I feel she can make herself heard," he said gesturing to Marissa. "If she shall accompany me, we Red shall make certain she is equipped properly."

"If provision is needed for your care, then I entreat you to follow me, and I shall see to your fare," Mosswall spoke slowly but clearly, his voice a pleasant and light tenor as if he was holding back laughter.

Scarlett smiled and flashed A and V to Marissa. _Nickelodeon, great, she's expanding her repertoire. _But she stepped forward and they bowed Fire Nation style, one hand wrapped around the other fist and bent their heads.

"So mark it true," the Council said in unison and the crowd repeated. A flurry of conversation, almost a cacophony broke out as the rest of Munchkins returned to whatever it was they did during the day. Scarlett and Marissa nodded at each other then split to follow their designated guide.

Marissa and Redthorn strode easily through the press of people, as they stepped out of the way to salute him. He simply nodded his head and they continued on their merry way. As they walked their surrounding became less and less green, fading into sparse sand and mostly rock. A voice called out sharp commands on a large field whose grass had been ground to sand from the countless hours of drills countless numbers of feet had performed. Marissa paused to nod in approval at the company of practicing spear bearers as she noted the sharp precision of each of the soldiers focus and movement. Redthorn noticed her gaze and grinned broadly at her pleased expression but gestured for her to continue on.

They continued past that field and several smaller ones identical to it, with a variety of weapons groups practicing under the loud command and watchful eye of a warrior with face paint. Still they walked on until the loud drills turned into the rhythmic pounding of smithies and forges hard at work. The path narrowed and they passed through a small rock tunnel and came out into a large clearing. It was a circle of stalls, some forges, some leatherworkers, some fletchers and some glassblowers. Apprentices in smudged tan outfits ran from stall to stall, fetching water at either of the two wells in the clearing or running off to complete some task out of the clearing, or worked under the watchful eye of someone in a varying degree of face paint. Redthorn paused to let her look, then set off again at a brisk pace down a trail that led away form the clearing.

Marissa felt herself relaxing from her earlier tension as she walked beside Redthorn. This was a place that rang deeply in her bones, the sort of place she had always envisioned in her perfect world but hadn't found till now. They now approached a large compound where once again apprentices were practicing and scurrying about but she knew instinctively that this was the weapons barracks for all trainees. They passed through a large and imposing looking gate and strode through a maze of hallways. The complex was surprising in it's simplicity. The roof seemed to be the most solid feature and the walls could be easily shifted to partition off space for different needs. The floors were of packed dirt, pounded flat and kept tidy by the apprentices. She suspected that it also served as a useful punishment for whatever infraction might occur. She refused to dwell on the fact this was only a very long dream likely the result of a coma and focused on not getting lost.

They strode into an inner courtyard where older students were practicing advanced combat in groups of four with a supervisor. They walked up to a well kept munchkin sitting on one of the various benched on the edge of the courtyard. His face paint was red marked by a single horizontal white stripe on his forehead followed by four black on his cheeks and he was carefully attending to a spear tip with a whet stone.

"Greetings Master Firespear," Redthorn said.

Firespear carefully set aside his work and looked up at the two of them. "Greetings, Master Chief Redthorn. Pleasure as always," he said warmly, his voice rough from constant overuse. He turned a speculative eye on Marissa.

"Master Firespear, may I present Marissa, guardian of a Blue Witch of the South," Redthorn said.

"Ah, so this is what all the fuss is about," he remarked.

"She needs to be equipped for rough road travel," Redthorn continued. "I think you would best know what she needs."

Firespear spent a moment simply sitting there, sizing her up, then stood. "Well met, Tall One. I see the Blue haven't forgotten what's what. Well then, best get these layabouts to work."

"Apprentices! Light armory retrieval, special stock, double step!" he roared.

"Yes, sir!" the groups yelled back and sprinted off back into the compound, dropping what they were doing. One student remained behind to clean up their weapons. As he scuttled about the field, Firespear turned to Marissa.

"I'm not quite sure what you were expecting, but you won't get me to rhyme unless I'm before the Council. War Manners do not require it and I am a teacher of war. Understood?"

She hid a chuckle and merely nodded.

"Excellent. Normally, before equipping you I would put you through your paces, but you intend to leave in the next few candle marks. Therefore, you shall select your weapons and demonstrate with only one. Understood?"

She nodded.

"Don't say much do you?"

She shook her head.

"I like that." He frowned abruptly. "They're late."

As he spoke the apprentices returned burdened with a variety of both strange and recognizable weapons. They quickly arranged the weapons on the benches and walls and arranged themselves into ranks.

"You're late," Firespear snapped disapprovingly.

"Apologies, Master," they replied.

"A week in weighted harnesses with regular duty to teach you the meaning of exhaustion."

A few groans rang out but one student smiled broadly.

"What is so amusing, Apprentice Stonebeam?"

"We get an early start on next fortnight's training, Master," he replied in good cheer.

"Two weeks for you then."

"Yes, Master."

"Dismissed."

They filed out of the courtyard complaining amongst themselves.

"Damned child is too smart for his own good," Firespear muttered angrily. Marissa stifled a giggle. She had heard that tone before; he was secretly proud but couldn't openly admit it.

"I see nothing wrong with him," Redthorn teasingly objected, knowing as Marissa did how he truly felt.

"I need my students to see their punishments as punishments or else they'll be no controlling them. They need to be stupid enough to be molded before they get the privilege of thinking for themselves," Firespear growled. "But enough chatter. Pick your weapons."

Redthorn smothered a grin and Marissa did as she was told. She found the light sword she liked immediately but was more particular in choosing her daggers. She picked up and tested several before finding a pair that seemed right but after a few tosses and swipes revealed their wrongness. Finally, she picked a pair of ornately filigreed daggers and was pleased with their balance but set them back down. That was an open invitation for trouble. She turned to the knives. She went through set after set and finally turned from the bench. She shook her head at them. None of these were right for her. Firespear frowned and walked over.

"A good set of knives is more practical than a pig sticker, I agree. We'll find you a set," he patted her hand then yelled "Apprentice Stonebeam! Get off the roof this instant and retrieve every last knife in the armory! Now!"

The student from earlier rolled off the roof where he had been hiding, then dashed off to the armory.

Marissa picked out two bows with a good pull and then inspected the staffs, picking out three she thought Scarlett would like the feel of. Stonebeam returned with two other apprentices and carefully laid out the knives. She set to work once more. She noticed Mosswall and Scarlett enter the courtyard out of the corer of her eye. Scarlett walked up to the staffs immediately and Mosswall went to stand with Redthorn and Firespear. Marissa at last found the pair she was looking for and turned to see how Scarlett was doing with her weapons.

She was currently hefting one of them and then shook her head and set it back. She shook her head at all three of them and turned to the ones on the wall. She worked quickly down the line and selected two. Then with a grin went to the middle of the courtyard. She shed the outer layer of her blue outfit and with a salute, whirled into action. Marissa rolled her eyes and rejoined the others.

"Brother," Mosswall greeted Firespear, who nodded in return keeping his eyes on Scarlett.

"Interesting days ahead, wouldn't you say?" Redthorn said amusedly.

Marissa watched with a critical eye as Scarlett wove through a semi-complex form designed to test limits rather than be fancy. She nodded with approval when Scarlett stopped and set down the staff. The balance wasn't quite right, her movements had been off center. Scarlett picked up the next one and once more performed the form. She finished, frowned, then repeated the last maneuver. A grin split her cheeks and she fluidly slipped into another form. Marissa coughed loudly and she held the pose she was in before returning to a normal stance. She picked up her cover cloth and walked up to them, staff in hand.

"Show off," Marissa muttered darkly.

"Absolutely," Scarlett replied cheekily.

Firespear was regarding her with a disapproving look. "Who taught you that?" he demanded.

Scarlett blinked. "That? Oh, the form. No one really. I read it out of a book. She couldn't teach me anything more," she pointed at Marissa, the shrugged, "I had to have something to practice."

"Your footwork is still sloppy," he grumbled.

She shrugged again. "Real battle doesn't allow for perfect footwork."

He frowned at her then after a moment, nodded. "You'll do." He turned to Marissa. "I'm beginning to see why you needed to tag along."

"Well, we're all set, then. Time to hit the road again."

"Joy," Marissa muttered sarcastically.

"A scout will lead you to the edge of our borders. Fair journey," Redthorn said.

"Fair journey," Mosswall echoed and Firespear nodded.

The suns were just beginning to set when the scout that had patiently been leading them for the past half hour stopped. He turned to regard them seriously.

"Chief Redthorn asked me to give you a warning," he said quietly. "Groups of bandits and a rebel army have been stalking the land as of late. Trust only those who are in the service of Queen Lavender. And if you see anyone bearing this symbol," he scrawled an upside triangle bisected by two circles, "they are to be avoided at all costs or killed. Do you understand?"

The two looked at each other before nodding. The scout destroyed the symbol, wished them fair journey and silently disappeared back the way they had come.

"Well, that certainly puts a damper on my inclination to go madly gallivanting about," Scarlett remarked cheerily.

Marissa deigned not to reply and set off along the road, preparing herself for the deluge of chatter that was sure to some over the next few "days".

Far away, a figure lay lazily watching the suns set in the middle of a field. Suddenly, they stood and looked to the west. A pulse of energy swept through the field carried on the wind. The figure savored the energy a moment, then strode off purposefully. It was time. The powers of the West were stirring.

Far away, deep in a cavern beneath earth, something stirred briefly, listening to something carried in the stones. An animal growl filled the cave. Time was running out. The two of none had come.


	9. Trials and Tribulations

_Chapter Nine: _

_Trials and Tribulations _

"You know this is just one of those things they never mention in adventure novels, or those shows you see on TV or even campers ever talk about. Why, I don't know. I mean it's not exactly a taboo topic, just an uncomfortable one. I mean seriously, as a modern suburbanite, these things would be useful to know."

Marissa sighed as Scarlett continued to rant.

"-Oh! Hey, look! A tree squirrel looking-ish creature! Wait, I'm pretty sure squirrels don't have two tails. Unless, of course, you've been born in Chernobyl, then you're fair game for any sort of mega-doping-gene-switching radiation. Though, I'll bet the average American teenage girl's brain or fingertips could give them a run for their money, depending on whether they text or talk. Given the likelihood of what I've seen in high school, I'm going with text. Not to mention, the family plans are mainly text packages nowadays,-"

They had spent the night outdoors plagued by bugs until they remembered the packets of herbs in Scarlett's backpack and then they had spent the whole night jumping at every single strange sounding noise. Then they had almost set fire to the forest in the morning when breakfast did not go as planned and now Scarlett was discussing, or rather, doing a two-hour-and-still-going soliloquy. Marissa had made the mistake of calling it a monologue and had earned herself a thirty minute rant on theatre terminology, Shakespeare and proper grammar.

"-if what Cole says is anything to go by. He has got to be the most homosexual straight guy I have ever met. That or he has a had a female dominated household and family from birth. I dunno, it's 50-50. But anyway, before the squirrel-thing distracted me, why do they never talk about going to the bathroom?"

And that brought them full circle to the last unfortunate issue they had had to face down. Being in the wilderness with no "WC's, toilets, bathrooms, restrooms, or plumbing of any kind." Marissa know knew more about indoor plumbing than she had ever needed, ever wanted, to know. It was a source of constant amazement how Scarlett never got lost in her own mental ramblings.

"It's really not that embarrassing. It's a natural body function that is disgusting, yes, but must be talked about. That's it! When we get home, I am _so _writing a survival guide. Knowing how to dislodge an alligator from your person is definitely not as useful as knowing how to go to the bathroom. That is, not to say that we don't have previous knowledge, but that the proper technique would be nice."

Luckily, she had remembered a snippet from a movie that had told to her what to do and Marissa went camping. Yes, a movie. Her last few sentences registered.

"You know how to dislodge an alligator?"

"Why, yes. Don't you?

Marissa shook her head mutely.

"I had assumed it was a matter of common knowledge."

"Only if you're in Florida."

"Well then, you've just proved my point."

"We live in Texas."

"Still, it's a matter of common knowledge _somewhere_."

"You cannot just bring in the 'it's 5 o'clock somewhere' argument. The generalization is too broad."

"Aren't generalizations supposed to be broad? Otherwise they're stereotypes."

Marissa shook her head. "Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with you."

"For all that that's your catchphrase, it still doesn't make the least bit of sense to me," Scarlett said looking up at the trees. "It's like you're implying some kind of tacit shame to be associated with me. That or you're secretly amused but it would ruin your whole ninja demeanor to admit it. And what's with this _sometimes_? You say that _all _the time."

Marissa heaved a heavy sigh but Scarlett was too busy staring at trees to continue pressing the issue. They walked along in sweet, blessed silence for a while -almost twenty minutes before - "Missa?"

Marissa throttled the urge to throttle her and said very sweetly, "Yes, Scarlett?"

"Do you hear that?"

They both stopped and stood stock still. The wind chose that moment to pick up and the leaves rustled loudly but that was all they heard. No bird calls. No twigs snapping under animals feet. And a low rhythmic thumping noise.

"Get off the road!"

They scrambled to the side of the road and burrowed beneath two prickly, waxy bushes with yellow leaves that smelled like oranges. They pressed themselves into the dirt as best they could and Scarlett raised the hood on the grey shirt-hoodie-vest thing she was wearing to hide her hair. They breathed shallowly through their mouths and waited. Ten minutes passed. The noise got slightly louder. Another ten minutes passed. The noise had a sort of jingling to it now and it was more of a plodding noise now, than a pounding. Another ten minutes passed but still they waited. If nothing else could be said for the two, they were both incredibly patient.

The noise eventually resolved itself into a group of twelve riders. They rode in tight formation, in matching uniforms that somewhat resembled the Army. Or at least they would if it weren't for the cowboy hats and thigh-high grey leather boots. A chill ran down the girls spines as they noticed the crest of triangle and circles embossed on their hats and shields. The group passed them slowly, at a smooth trot. Or, they would have, if another rider hadn't come galloping up the road, heading straight for them.

It was another soldier but the company halted and waited patiently as he reached them.

"Captain Reiman! Captain Reiman!" the soldier shouted as he galloped up.

The Captain, a man at the end of the column, turned his horse to face the scout. He was a striking man. Neatly shaven with skin the color of amber, eyes the color of coal, he sat his horse with the ease of one born to the saddle and the calm, cool nature of a vicious predator.

"Report, Scout Leemin," he said, his voice a rich baritone.

The scout hastily handed him a leather case. The captain opened it and a scroll slid from it. He read it quickly then returned it to its case.

"Very well, then," he said calmly. "Our orders have just been changes," he said addressing his men. "We are to return at once with all possible haste." The column quickly reversed itself and strapped down their things.

The captain turned to the scout and calmly pulled out his sword. "Scout Leemin?"

"Yes, captain?"

The Captain nudged his horse closer and coolly pierced the scouts lower forearm near the elbow.

"If I ever hear you calling out an officer's name and rank again, I will make sure not to miss the appropriate spot to end your life," he said calmly. The scout released a hoarse shout of agony but bit down on his hand to keep from screaming. "Am I understood?"

The scout whimpered through his sudden tears but managed to mumble out an affirmative loud enough to satisfy the Captain.

"Excellent, you may bandage that as we travel. Forward march!"

Marissa clenched her teeth angrily, knowing that it would be nearly impossible to bandage a wound like that one-handed on horseback at a quick pace. Scarlett looked like she was about to be ill and struggled to keep breathing quietly. They waited ten minutes before crawling out of their hidey hole. They looked at each other.

"What was his name?" Marissa demanded lowly.

"Captain Reiman," she said softly, as if in pain. Marissa branded the name into her brain as Scarlett swallowed a few times then shakily got her feet. She adjusted her backpack and shook her head. "Come on. We've got to get out of here, before they come back."

"If we continue this way, we'll run right into them."

Scarlett shook her head. "Think about it, Missa."

Marissa rolled her neck, clenched her fists and evaluated the situation. Two people on foot would travel much more slowly than twelve on horses, would be quieter, possibility of being easier to track in the soft dirt they were on, easier to split up and hide. She looked at Scarlett.

"They said their orders had changed," she said slowly.

"I'm pretty sure that means they've been called back to base or at least to the aid of another company," Scarlett said.

"But they were heading down the road for an original mission. That means they're likely to double back eventually."

"We may run into them if they decide to do that, but at the moment they've retreated. The only way we make sure to get caught is to stay here."

"What's the likelihood they saw us in the brush, but didn't get the chance to do anything?"

"One of the people at the front looked like he was a tracker, but I'm not sure if he had enough time to accurately judge our prints."

"Alright, then. Let's assume he does. So at least one person who is completely hostile to us knows we exist and will most likely report it to his superiors."

"Meaning?"

"If they do come back down the road and they know we're traveling along the road, they may set up an ambush to catch us."

"I think that's highly unlikely. Even if we're not supposed to know they're traveling this road, they chose to travel on the road. That means they'll be seen eventually and they know it. It sounds to me like an exercise in fear and scouting. People who see them will know they've come farther into the OZ but the fact that they're traveling in such large numbers means they can't be familiar with the terrain and are expecting a fight from someone."

"Which the Guild will give them." They shared a grim look.

"Remember though, it takes time to set up an ambush. The report said with all possible haste and they left at a canter. They mean to travel some serious distance."

"We still need to be more careful from now on."

"No argument there. But how, exactly?"

"We'll have to start sleeping in shifts and we need to pack mud onto our shoes to try and disguise the tread," she reasoned aloud. "No fires and if we can, keep our smells like bug smoke, to a minimum."

"All of that's doable," Scarlett said, "just very uncomfortable."

"If it's a choice between death or being uncomfortable-"

"Being uncomfortable it is, for two hundred Alec," Scarlett interrupted.

"Alec?"

"From _Jeopardy!"_

"Right. Shoes first."

They quickly disguised their shoes as best they could and set off once more.

Over the next few days they quickly settled into a rhythm. They traveled as quietly as they could, talking kept to a minimum. Marissa took the first night shift as Scarlett was undoubtedly the morning person between the two of them, using a small watch that also functioned as a sundial to keep track of time.

The fourth day after they had left, it rained. Scarlett had pulled out a small umbrella and black poncho out for Marissa and had covered herself and her backpack inside a dull tan rain poncho. Marissa had tried to argue against this arrangement as her head would still get soaked.

"I've got a hood, you don't. Not to mention, I don't get sick and you do. End of story."

And that was that. The downpour lessened into a steady drizzle for the next day and a half before reverting into a monsoon. They built themselves a hasty lean-to about ten feet from the road in the crook of a tree and rode it out.

"Looks like Girl Scouts was useful after all," Scarlett remarked, watching the road from their shelter.

"Agreed."

"The storm should last until about noon tomorrow, then it'll be clear skies for a few days."

"Great," Marissa grumbled, "deep, cold mud to slog through."

"Good facial masks though."

"Go to bed."

"Alright, alright. Night to you too, meanie-head."

Marissa rolled her eyes at the childish name but said nothing. It was going to be a long, long night.


	10. Points and Playacting

_Chapter Ten: _

_Points and Playacting_

True to form, Scarlett's prediction was accurate. The rain slackened just as they switched shifts and by the time Marissa woke up in the morning, it had completely disappeared. They continued along the road. Scarlett chattered on but with somewhat less volume than before. It annoyed Marissa, for she wanted to keep a very low profile indeed. Nevertheless, after a small but heated argument, she resigned herself to the fact that Scarlett, no matter where she was, no matter how serious or dangerous the occasion, no matter how much mortal peril she was in, would blithely continue on her way and keep a running commentary while doing so. Occasionally she would say something remarkably intelligent, but those moments were few and far between in her labyrinthine chats.

They once more settled into a rhythm but there was now an underlying tension that hadn't been there before. Marissa openly carried her daggers on her belt and would occasionally pause to listen to the woods. During these mini-episodes Scarlett would lazily lean on her staff and give her an inscrutable look. Marissa would scowl as they started up once more and make some comment on how the staff was not a walking stick.

After the first few episodes, Scarlett had then made it clear she was of the opinion that the only truly useful weapons could serve more than one singular purpose (killing). She lumped knives, staffs, axes and chains under this category and had carefully gone through each of their possible uses. Marissa was firmly of the opposite opinion, that weapons were to be used only in battle and in times of war for (mostly) defensive purposes. She knew that usefulness came from the quality and craftsmanship of the weapon, not from possible other uses.

The argument continued sporadically in between travel, sleep and other commentary. It was beginning to wear on Marissa's nerves and after the twentieth or so pause, Scarlett finally slammed her point home with one of her rare moments of genius.

"And what, precisely, are you to do with weapons in times of peace, then?" Scarlett had snapped. "A farmer has no use at all for a sword when there is peace. If anything, a hatchet to chop wood and slaughter pigs would be more useful. But a hatchet isn't considered a traditional weapon. And, of what use is a spear to shopkeeper? Sure, they could sell it, but other than that it takes up precious space that can be used for merchandise. For that matter, even if you were a soldier, armor is way too heavy for everyday wear. It would be exhausting, uncomfortable and likely to spark problems with civilians. Not to mention, you can't simply throw weapons in a room and leave them alone for more than six months. Wars don't break out that often last time I checked and weapons require constant attention and repair." She had paused to shake her head. "If you stubbornly insist on saying that weapons are to have one purpose then they serve no function, even now," she glared pointedly at the daggers and lifted her staff. "We are technically not under attack, and have thus far only perceived any threat. For all we know, those soldiers may consider us harmless. The threat of violence does not warrant physical retaliation when no blow has been struck by either party."

The comment had rankled, for several reasons. As a martial artist, the belief in and practice of self-control and discipline was deeply ingrained. As a reader, she knew how warfare worked. But as a reasonable and logical person, Scarlett's argument (in this instance) was undoubtedly better. Marissa had scowled fiercely but from that point on the comments had stopped and they traveled on in relative peace.

The humidity was at first overwhelming but as the ground began to firm under their feet, pleasant weather returned. And with a break in the weather came a break in the gloom hanging over the two travelers.

The second day after the rainstorm they were surprised by a swarm of vivid, fuzzy pink butterflies that took up residence on them. They were larger than the average butterfly, with some having wingspans as large as cupped hands, but they were surprisingly docile and settled quite naturally on the two girls. They particularly seemed to favor hair but enjoyed shoulders and outstretched hands. And, as they discovered, if you were to gently run your finger down their back, they would emit soft flute-like sounds and change color. Marissa's butterflies almost always turned silver or grey but Scarlett was able to coax just about any color from them, including stripes and polka dots.

After witnessing a particularly large butterfly turn burnt orange and acid yellow, Marissa startled herself by speaking her thoughts aloud, "That shouldn't be possible."

Scarlett shrugged. "These are special butterflies. Normal rules don't apply." She grinned. "The trick is to think of a color in your head and a sound you associate with it, then run your finger over them."

"Pink polka dots?"

"The Pink Panther of course!" She hummed a little ditty and for a moment it seemed as if she had teal hair. Then she laughed and the butterflies took flight.

"Vivaldi's Rain."

"Yep." A thoughtful look sharpened her eyes. "Hey, do you think they're psychic butterflies?"

Marissa stopped herself before she completely denied the possibility. They were in an alternate dimension after all. "Maybe."

"Do you think they can glow?"

"It might hurt them."

"Hmmm, you're right, better not."

The butterflies remained with them until night fell and fluttered back to where they had first appeared. The girls settled down easily and before Scarlett fell asleep, Marissa asked her something that had been bothering her.

"Why were my butterflies always silver or grey?"

"Because they're your favorite colors," she yawned and dropped off into sleep.

Marissa spent a good portion of the night scowling off in the distance. She was slightly miffed at her inability to coax other colors from the creatures. After all, of the two, Marissa was the one with tangible talent. At drawing, swimming, martial arts, and video games she excelled. The numerous awards and certificates, the thousands of activities, the hundreds of hours spent in practice and yet, she was upstaged as easily as breathing. It wasn't fair, sometimes. Scarlett did very little on a day to day basis: she went to school and went to martial arts, that was it. All other hours were spent sleeping, eating and in odd pursuits like collecting American Civil War hymns. Marissa was honest enough to admit that at times, she was slightly jealous. And then she remembered.

Scarlett was not an easy child to understand, even on her best days. She was always isolated, always avoided and more often than not insulted by both teachers and students. Adults were threatened by her, children loved her, teenagers loathed her and anyone who knew her adored her. She was, Marissa reflected, a very polarizing figure. There was no denying she was special. Everything she said, the things she noticed, the way she went about doing things and the unshakable aura of someone who simply _knew_. Marissa had heard Scarlett's mother call her Indigo child before. Curiosity killed the cat, and so she had researched it. Oh, the confusion.

As most of these esoteric New Age things go, nothing made sense on the whole. Each source contradicted another and skeptics, critics and true believers fought vicious flame wars over semantics. But it was the general sum-up she found after about two hours that had made the most sense. It ran, "_Indigo children are believed to be unusually empathetic, curious, strong-willed, independent, and are often perceived by friends and family as being strange. They possess a clear sense of self-definition and purpose and have a strong feeling of entitlement, or "deserving to be here." They typically have a high intelligence quotient, an inherent intuitive ability, and resistance to authority_." And it was a fitting description on most accounts. It was however the last bit that truly clinched it: _"…Indigo children function poorly in conventional schools due to their rejection of authority, being smarter than their teachers, and a lack of response to guilt-, fear- or manipulation-based discipline._" For as long as she had known Scarlett, she had never seen her kowtow to someone or fuss about a punishment given at school. She was often the first person to admit she had done something wrong, if she was being herself.

Marissa decided finally, that if anyone else had fallen into a situation like this, they would be in severe trouble with little to no chance of survival. She of course would be fine, but the other unfortunate soul would be the one getting mixed up in every imaginable mishap possible. It was, she reflected, fitting that she be accompanied by a very strange person into a very strange land.

The next morning as Marissa woke up, the butterflies still hadn't returned. Muzzily, she sat up and glared at Scarlett who was divvying up breakfast rations.

"You didn't wake me up."

Scarlett grinned but didn't deny it. "You needed the sleep. You've been wound tighter than a tin soldier ever since we ran into those Grey Boots."

"The soldiers?"

"Yes, I spent a large portion of my shift pondering over the appropriate nickname for them. I came up with several others, but Grey Boots seemed perfect."

She completed a series of quick stretches. "Boots on the ground, after all."

Scarlett nearly dropped her food in shock.

"Or it might be their outfits, hard to tell."

Scarlett glared at her suspiciously.

"What?"

"I thought you had no sense of humor."

"I do, it's just very dry."

"Then doesn't that mean you should enjoy my puns?"

Marissa sniffed disdainfully. "I think it's more the delivery."

Scarlett glowered. "So I have an unusual appreciation for puns, what's wrong with that?"

Marissa shrugged and started off. Scarlett slipped on her backpack and followed, still munching on her bread. It was however the next comment that made a chill shiver down her spine.

"Have you ever bothered to consider that this situation is too perfect?" Scarlett chewed thoughtfully, taking in her surroundings. "I mean really, what sort of cosmic comedy are we involved in? You happen to be one of the best martial artists in the DFW area, you're in Girl Scouts and can camp like a champ, you seem to be doing unusually well in this atmosphere and we haven't been killed or injured or threatened or maimed or deterred or come into contact with anything poisonous yet."

Marissa frowned at her. "You're saying you want that to happen?"

"No, not at all. I simply mean, if I was Spiderman my Spidey-senses would be tingling. This place is going through a great deal of change at the moment and it stands to reason we'll eventually get caught up in it too. The fact we haven't yet makes me slightly more inclined to think something disastrous is on the way."

"Don't jinx us."

"Magic is beyond my skill level at the moment. I need to level up a few times before I can do that."

The complete seriousness of her tone earned her a skeptical look.

"You've survived a twister, are alive in a dimension where there are two suns, been captured by a crazy bunch of rhyming turkeys in face paint, slept in a tree that had a bed and running water in it, encountered a hostile warrior group, met color-changing, singing butterflies and you refuse to believe that magic is possible?" Scarlett shook her head. "Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with _you_."

Marissa planted both her feet in the ground and was about to let loose one of her most fearsome lectures of all time when she was cut off by- "Hey, well, would you look at that."

She turned to see what Scarlett was regarding and did a double take. They had stumbled upon a ghost town. The faded, peeling, wooden buildings; the hand painted signs; the hitching posts and water troughs for horses; the barren, dust of a well-traveled road. It was exactly like the Spaghetti Westerns Scarlett adored so much and that she was consequently forced to watch.

"Are we in Hollywood?"

Marissa considered a moment. "No, the sets there are all interconnected. They haven't done whole-sale staging like this since the 1940's. This is just an abandoned town."

"We don't know that for sure," Scarlett said gleefully and sprinted into town yelling at the tops of her lungs, "Yeehaw! Get along little doggies!"

Marissa reluctantly followed, muttering to herself, "Does she even realize the meaning or the _point _of keeping a low profile?"

Scarlett waited cheerfully on the porch of the largest building. "Come on, slowpoke!" Marissa remained walking at her -_dignified _pace, and focused more on the layout of the town than what was in it. Something wasn't right.

"Would you look at this place! It's fantastic!" Scarlett happily walked into the doors of what was named the Painted Horse Inn and she went after.

It was a true saloon, sure enough. A red-curtained stage with something resembling a piano next to it. Swirling staircases and rooms on the second floor. Posters of people in strange looking clothing with fancy titles like "Razzle Dazzle Rodeo", "Sing Out, Sweetheart!" and "On the Subject of Cheese" hung under some of the clear glass lamps bolted into the walls. Scarlett walked over to the bar and stared, fascinated, at the various bottles on the shelves. And as she surveyed the room, Marissa felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Plates of food and mugs of some liquid sat abandoned at small, round wooden tables where they weren't overturned. Footprints were outlined on the barely dusty floor and the electric lamps were on in some places, but not others. Splashes of what could only be blood were concentrated in areas where there were the most messes. It was in its own eerie and silent way, screaming that something very, very wrong had taken place here.

"We need to leave."

"Wait, what?" Scarlett turned with two oddly shaped bottles in her hands to peer in confusion at Marissa.

"We need to leave."

"But we just got here!"

Marissa set her jaw and glared. "We need to leave _now_."

Her eyebrows raised but Scarlett complied by dashing out the window into the street.

"Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" she called out over her shoulder. Marissa twitched at the swinging doors and stood there trying control her irritation.

"Hey-" sounded from the street and then the sound of something heavy hitting the ground followed.

Marissa burst out onto the street to find Scarlett in a heap in the middle of the road. Panicked, she rushed over and knelt down to see what was the matter only to growl in irritation the next second. Scarlett burst out into laughter.

"Had ya goin', didn't I?"

Marissa responded with a quick kick to the shin.

"OW-hey! What was that for?"

Marissa raised an eyebrow.

"No sympathy for a wounded comrade! Cruel world! Crippled by a friend turned traitor, left to fend for herself in a strange land! Oh, woe is me!"

Marissa rolled her eyes and started waking off.

"Fine then! I accept! We duel, at high noon today!"

Scarlett stood, dusted herself off. Carefully, she formed her hands into guns and pointed them at Marissa's retreating back.

"Stick 'em up!"

She kept walking.

"I said, stick 'em up or I'll shoot!"

Marissa turned to lecture her but froze.

"Hah! So you see you are outnumbered! You would do well, to surrender while you still have the chance." Scarlett stroked her chin, petting an imaginary beard. "Hah! You may try and beg for mercy but I will never accept it!" Cue evil laughter. She stopped after a few minutes to give Marissa a puzzled look.

"Hello? Did you hear me?"

Still Marissa didn't move.

"Well, jeez, no appreciation these days."

And then it was her turn to freeze, as applause broke out behind her.

"Oh, snicker-doodles."


End file.
